Season 2 Episode 2
read (Released October 14, 2008) In a brief flashback to 22 years ago, Yuu (age 7) meets Yuuko (age 6) shortly after they were both independently placed in the church orphanage after having lost their respective parents in the great earthquake and fire. This is followed by Yuu (age 17) having his endlessly recurring nightmare of his sister, Akane Himura, dying in the fire as she called out to him in vain for rescue. After he awakens from the nightmare, he picks up and looks at Akane's broken and burned wristwatch, which is the only keepsake that he has of her. At the school, Kuze (age 18) is giving away his old possessions in preparation for leaving for Germany. Yuuko begins to follow Yuu around, much to his annoyance. She drags him back up to the rooftop, explaining that she has a secret key that was duplicated long ago by a member of the Astronomy Club just before the club was disbanded, and that the key has been handed down between students, from generation to generation, ever since then. On the rooftop, Yuuko asks Yuu what had happened to him after she was adopted away, and he replies nothing happened: He was never adopted. He grew up alone. He says it makes him very independent. (It also means he does not trust or rely on other people.) He says he is now attending Otobane Academy on a hardship scholarship, which he warns he might lose if he has poor grades or poor attendance (this becomes an issue when he flees with Yuuko in episode 8). He again instructs Yuuko to stay away from him. In the present, Mizuki again visits Kuze in his townhome. She picks out and wears one of Kuze's school nurse uniforms from his cosplay collection. Kuze asks if she wouldn't rather go out sightseeing instead, but she insists on instead staying home with him, pointing out that the laundry needs to be done, and that the two Otowas are identical anyway so she doesn't need to see it. They run into Renji, who is exhausted from pulling an all-nighter in preparation for his college entrance exams. Mizuki announces she is doing laundry and forcibly strips off Renji's soiled clothes, causing him to flee upstairs as Kuze continues to watch the energetic girl with bemusement. Kuze helps Mizuki do the laundry, but he tells her jokingly that he is only helping her do the laundry so he can touch Sumire's undergarments. Mizuki replies primly that she has already hidden them. Afterwards, Kuze tells Mizuki how he got started playing the violin. Kuze then prepares to follow her back down to the laundry room, but he has a sudden attack and collapses on the floor. Mizuki tries to dial the emergency number on her cellphone (119 in Japan) but it does not work because the emergency number in Australia is actually 000. So instead Mizuki drags his body to the couch (while accidentally bonking his head on the furniture several times) and puts his head in her lap. Eventually he opens his eyes and wonders if he is looking at an angel. Mizuki misinterprets it as him being flirty and sighs that he must be feeling fine. However, he is still delirious. He says in a childlike way that he has scary dreams. Mizuki realizes he is still in genuine distress and mothers him in her lap as he falls asleep again. Eventually she puts him to bed on the couch and covers him with a blanket. Hours later he wakes up alone and does not remember what had happened. Later, Kuze is seen burning unopened letters from his old girlfriends (including one from Nagi). In the past, Yuu (age 17) broods over the death his sister Akane. He recalls how Yuuko (age 6) kept following him around at the orphanage, and how she was always trying to look at his sketches, much to his annoyance. She would often ask him to draw her picture, but he always made excuses (e.g., that he had no paper left). One day he sees her leaning against a tree, and he secretly draws her picture in his sketchbook. She spots him drawing her picture and rushes over to see it, but he hides it. She asks him why he can't be her big-brother and she his little sister. Thinking of Akane, he angrily yells back "I don't need a sister!" He then finally reveals to Yuuko the reason: His real sister is dead. Yuuko nods and says she understands, then she runs off to play elsewhere. He folds his drawing of her into a paper airplane and tosses it away. A few days later she is adopted and he never sees her again. On the rooftop, Yuu (age 17) asks Yuuko why she is following him around again. She suddenly lunges unexpectedly and embraces him, claiming that after all these years she still loves him. (She does, but she is actually pushing herself on him in a subtle plea for help, which gets explained fully in episode 6.) In the present, Kuze broods about his mortality as he sits in his backdoor patio. Mizuki cannot sleep and meets him outside in her pajamas. He offers her tea and they chat outside. She waxes eloquently about his music CD, and how it is like someone whispering "I love you" in your ear. Kuze nods with understanding, and he explains that many famous songs were born from love or from broken hearts. Mizuki says she wants to learn what he feels when he performs those songs. Kuze blinks his eyes in confusion as he wonders what she just meant. Mizuki stands, faces away, then turns back to him and says, "Kuze-san, this is sudden, but I think I've fallen in love with you." He is completely stunned by her plain-spoken statement. But before he can react any further she says she will see him tomorrow and runs off. Kuze remains frozen in his chair, staring at where she just stood, wondering what the hell just happened. Then he closes his eyes and swears to himself, "Damn." Previous Episode | Next Episode Category:Episodes Category:Season 2